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Wednesday, 13 May 2015

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo turns down pleas to help revive PDP

Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo has rebuffed repeated pleas from concerned
member of the Peoples Democratic Party to help revive the party
following its defeat in the March 28 presidential election.

President
Goodluck Jonathan, who flew the PDP flag in the March 28 election, lost
to his All Progressives Congress challenger, Muhammadu Buhari, a former
military head of state.

The party, which has
ruled Nigeria since the return of democracy 16 years ago, also lost its
majority status in the National Assembly just as it won a fewer number
of states unlike in the past election.

With the defeat, the
ruling party will now take on the opposition role as from May 29 when
Mr. Jonathan hands over power to Mr. Buhari.

Since the defeat,
the party’s senior members have been bickering with one another with
some demanding the exit of its National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu and other
officers, who are accused of working against the party during the
election.

Concerned about the future of the party, some of its
leaders have been reaching out to Mr. Obasanjo to return to the party
and help build it ahead of future elections.

The former
president had in February directed a fellow PDP member and ward leader
to openly tear his party membership card at a forum in Abeokuta, the
Ogun State capital.

Premium Times gathered that among
those persuading him to return to lead the party were serving governors
and federal lawmakers who believed the party should play viable
opposition in the next dispensation.

Mr. Obasanjo’s close allies
said the anxious party men have been pressuring the former leader, who
was the first elected president on the party’s platform, by either
visiting him or through telephone calls.

It was learnt that the
former president, who was also the PDP leader and Chairman of its Board
of Trustees, has repeatedly rebuffed the request to return to the party.

Sources close to him said at some point he told those mounting
pressure on him that rather than returning to the party he would
encourage viable opposition from other standpoints.

“I’m
done with party politics here on earth and in heaven. Period,” Mr.
Obasanjo was overheard telling a PDP chieftain who telephoned him
recently to raise the matter.

Mr.
Obasanjo was also said to have told some people pressuring him that he
could have considered returning to the party had his membership card not
been publicly thorn before the general elections.

He was quoted as saying his membership card has been shredded and that “as it is now, a goat has eaten up the pieces”.

Mr. Obasanjo confirmed to Premium Times in a telephone interview that he has been under pressure to return to the PDP but vowed not to do so.

“I’m not ready to discuss partisan politics because I’m done with it,” he said.

Mr. Obasanjo told Premium Times he has foreclosed any possibility of returning to the PDP.

“I
agree that Nigeria needs a strong and viable opposition and I will
continue to encourage that,” the former President said. “I will continue
to do that even without belonging to a political party. I have moved
beyond party politics.”